Manipulative Single Electric Dipole with Spontaneous Translational Symmetry Breaking in a Two-Dimensional Crystal

It is widely acknowledged that quantum entities with minimal mass cannot undergo spontaneous symmetry breaking due to strong quantum fluctuations. Here, we report the discovery of a positionally settled single electric dipole that can be manipulated and electrically polarized in a monolayer CoCl2-graphite heterostructure, which demonstrates an unprecedented example of spontaneous lattice-translational-symmetry breaking. Scanning tunneling microscopy and atomic force microscopy show that the solitons are intrinsic paraelectric dipoles driven by synchronous charge-lattice distortion around individual CoCl6 octahedrons. Both the dipole moment and lateral position of the soliton can be manipulated by the electric field exerted from the tip, which offers polarity-switchable and layout-designable electrostatic potential landscapes that determine the band bending configuration. This study exemplifies a brand-new type of local charge-lattice order, appealing for further research on the mechanism underlying the soliton robustness, and the electrically and positionally controllable single dipole supports the feasibility of band tailoring in device applications.